It was in 1931 that the historian James Truslow Adams coined the phrase “the American Dream.” Yet today the American dream has derailed, because of stupidity, corruption and the loss of American values.

Or maybe an American dream facsimile is more likely to be found in Canada or Europe. Canadians receive essentially free health care, while Americans pay for part of their health care costs with after-tax dollars. Meanwhile, the American worker toils, on average, 4.6 percent more hours than a Canadian worker, 21 percent more hours than a French worker and an astonishing 28 percent more hours than a German worker, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Canadians and Europeans also live longer, on average, than Americans do. Their children are less likely to die than ours. American women are twice as likely to die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth as Canadian women. Most sobering of all: A recent O.E.C.D. report found that for people aged 16 to 24, Americans ranked last among rich countries in numeracy and technological proficiency.

Instead of being different and better, the people in the United States decided to be like the rest of the world and killed the American dream.